As an atheist, how do you cope with the thought of death?

[snoorkel]

Possibly, but all that knowledge won't necessarily matter much when you're dead

Life is what you make of it, if you seek knowledge, by all means continue... Sure imagining (ie what comes after death) is fun, but it won't create any more of a concrete conclusion and in the end is just daydreaming. Not that daydreaming can't be entertaining (sci-fi).

So then what knowledge does matter when I'm dead? If none, what am I doing? (I'm not looking for an answer to these questions.) Everything you're saying is ad hoc reasoning that doesn't lead anywhere because your only answer is 'it doesn't matter'. Well of course the fucking nature of existence and death matter, how has science ever gotten anywhere without regard for it? There are tangible answers to questions about human purpose and death, you're just taught that they're impossible to answer because impossibilities imply god (ironic in this situation).

[spoiler]If you want to understand this, do mushrooms, if you want proof, do DMT. Yeah, yeah, it's just drugs, and earth is just a big rock in space.[/spoiler]

[YPrrrr]

... I've done mushrooms, you assume too much.

And I don't see why you're getting so upset because this isn't even my belief I'm representing. I'm saying certain people believe in nothingness after death. Which is fine, that's their opinion. In that case knowledge is completely worthless once you are dead. Science doesn't have much to do with the afterlife... death, sure. If you think there are definite answers to human purpose and the afterlife then you are a very silly person and extremely closed-minded. But if you have the answer, I'm sure humankind would love to hear it. A revelation at last!

[snoorkel]

... I've done mushrooms, you assume too much.

And I don't see why you're getting so upset because this isn't even my belief I'm representing. I'm saying certain people believe in nothingness after death. Which is fine, that's their opinion. In that case knowledge is completely worthless once you are dead. Science doesn't have much to do with the afterlife... death, sure. If you think there are definite answers to human purpose and the afterlife then you are a very silly person and extremely closed-minded. But if you have the answer, I'm sure humankind would love to hear it. A revelation at last! Bim!

I'm not upset, I just use the word fucking a lot... what exactly is your personal belief then, if not 'it doesn't matter because what follows death is ultimately a mystery to the living and it will inevitably be answered of its own accord'? It seems very silly to me to impose a limit on yourself in abstract thought... 'that question is impossible to answer, so I might as well not even try.' Did cavemen conceive of electricity or even constructed buildings, to use a horridly simple analogy? Why not push the envelope, because it takes effort?

How is it closed-minded to believe there could be answers to apparently unanswerable questions, but it's open-minded to believe firmly that there are some questions that absolutely cannot be answered?

It's not about what each person 'makes of life', it's about searching for meaning in every facet of life... maybe your belief is that your life, mainly, is meaningless? That you exist to further the evolution of the human species and not much else?

[spoiler]So what did you think of mushrooms then? Cool trippy shit? Nothing deep, nothing profound, not even a whisper about your deepest insecurities?[/spoiler]

[YPrrrr]

I'm not upset, I just use the word fucking a lot... what exactly is your personal belief then, if not 'it doesn't matter because what follows death is ultimately a mystery to the living and it will inevitably be answered of its own accord'? It seems very silly to me to impose a limit on yourself in abstract thought... 'that question is impossible to answer, so I might as well not even try.' Did cavemen conceive of electricity or even constructed buildings, to use a horridly simple analogy? Why not push the envelope, because it takes effort?

How is it closed-minded to believe there could be answers to apparently unanswerable questions, but it's open-minded to believe firmly that there are some questions that absolutely cannot be answered?

It's not about what each person 'makes of life', it's about searching for meaning in every facet of life... maybe your belief is that your life, mainly, is meaningless? That you exist to further the evolution of the human species and not much else?

[spoiler]So what did you think of mushrooms then? Cool trippy shit? Nothing deep, nothing profound, not even a whisper about your deepest insecurities?[/spoiler]

Oh, that doesn't limit abstract thought at all... I know I am more likely than not to be wrong in whatever conclusion I draw, but that doesn't prevent me from thinking about it from time to time. I would just never argue or defend that belief much because anyone's guess is as good as mine.

That's not closed minded, but to definitively say the meaning of life is "x" or "knowledge" is a bit much. Perhaps for you that is true, but to another maybe they define their life much differently.

Oh psh, like I care about the human species I don't see why a person can't define his own path as he sees fit. Perhaps meaning isn't as important to everyone as it is to you. I honestly don't put much investment in any sort of meaning for life, I just roll with the punches

[spoiler]Well mushrooms were slightly terrifying in that my one friend believed he was in hell and had his life flash before his eyes every half minute for about 4 hours... but for me personally there was a really intense internal dialogue going on that just refused to stop. Not that it's that out of the ordinary, but the voice was much louder than it normally is[/spoiler]

[snoorkel]

Oh, that doesn't limit abstract thought at all... I know I am more likely than not to be wrong in whatever conclusion I draw, but that doesn't prevent me from thinking about it from time to time. I would just never argue or defend that belief much because anyone's guess is as good as mine.

That's not closed minded, but to definitively say the meaning of life is "x" or "knowledge" is a bit much. Perhaps for you that is true, but to another maybe they define their life much differently.

Oh psh, like I care about the human species I don't see why a person can't define his own path as he sees fit. Perhaps meaning isn't as important to everyone as it is to you. I honestly don't put much investment in any sort of meaning for life, I just roll with the punches

[spoiler]Well mushrooms were slightly terrifying in that my one friend believed he was in hell and had his life flash before his eyes every half minute for about 4 hours... but for me personally there was a really intense internal dialogue going on that just refused to stop. Not that it's that out of the ordinary, but the voice was much louder than it normally is[/spoiler]

You're more likely than not to be wrong in your conclusion, yet everyone can define his own path as he sees fit. So which one is it?!

(I'm not posing any answers, just my own thoughts. Of course anyone can define his own truths, that's what life is about, that's what I'm saying. What are we supposed to do if not talk about ideas? Watch sports? I hate this about people.)

What good does 'rolling with the punches' do anyone? You can go out to your field every day and see what fruits are there, work a little in one place one day, another place another day, sporadic like, and content yourself with the scraggly little shit fruits at the end; or, you can spend a lot of fucking time and effort creating the best possible system to produce tomatoes just how you like em, fat n juicy. Your life isn't a passive thing where whatever happens, happens and you can just slide along doing whatever. You could, but no one who does that is actually happy. You are always risen from the seeds you've sown, boy, we're here to raise a world, not slip through life with minimal friction.

[YPrrrr]

You're more likely than not to be wrong in your conclusion, yet everyone can define his own path as he sees fit. So which one is it?! Bim!

(I'm not posing any answers, just my own thoughts. Of course anyone can define his own truths, that's what life is about, that's what I'm saying. What are we supposed to do if not talk about ideas? Watch sports? I hate this about people.)

What good does 'rolling with the punches' do anyone? You can go out to your field every day and see what fruits are there, work a little in one place one day, another place another day, sporadic like, and content yourself with the scraggly little shit fruits at the end; or, you can spend a lot of fucking time and effort creating the best possible system to produce tomatoes just how you like em, fat n juicy. Your life isn't a passive thing where whatever happens, happens and you can just slide along doing whatever. You could, but no one who does that is actually happy. You are always risen from the seeds you've sown, boy, we're here to raise a world, not slip through life with minimal friction.

Both? You're free to be wrong, there's no shame in that

You're free to talk about your ideas but you sort of lay them out as fact. Life IS this. Etc. That doesn't sound like a personal definition but a general one you're imposing.

Perhaps someone likes to grow fruit for a living. They have no other desire than to grow those great fruits. Not much pursuit of knowledge is required for them to be happy in that case. A nomad can be content wandering the plains and hunting. A business man can play by the rules, work hard, and make money. Snorkel can do drugs and philosophize with his girlfriend on how they have it all figured out. Whatever floats your boat dude. I'm just here to enjoy the experience, I don't have to have it all figured out quite yet. You can feel bad for me if you want, I don't really care

[snoorkel]

Both? You're free to be wrong, there's no shame in that

You're free to talk about your ideas but you sort of lay them out as fact. Life IS this. Etc. That doesn't sound like a personal definition but a general one you're imposing.

Perhaps someone likes to grow fruit for a living. They have no other desire than to grow those great fruits. Not much pursuit of knowledge is required for them to be happy in that case. A nomad can be content wandering the plains and hunting. A business man can play by the rules, work hard, and make money. Snorkel can do drugs and philosophize with his girlfriend on how they have it all figured out. Whatever floats your boat dude. I'm just here to enjoy the experience, I don't have to have it all figured out quite yet. You can feel bad for me if you want, I don't really care

That's still exactly what I'm saying, 'knowledge' in the broadest sense of the term, not exclusively technical knowledge. Don't think I think I 'have it all figured out', I don't pretend to... just sharing thoughts, isn't that the point of discussion? I'm sorry if it seemed like I was trying to impose anything. We've digressed very far from the original topic, but the only thing I am trying to impose upon anyone is that ideas have value in themselves, they're not just airy things to talk about. The 'answers' to questions brought up by the thought of death, though they're not concrete things with physical applications in life, can lead to unexpected realms of thought. I certainly wouldn't know what they are.

[snoorkel]